Kovan murder accused denies killing victims to silence them
He repeatedly refutes DPP's suggestions that he had planned elaborate robbery with the aim of not leaving any witnesses
Murder accused Iskandar Rahmat yesterday denied he had killed motor workshop owner Tan Boon Sin, 67, and his son Tan Chee Heong, 42, to silence them.
The suspended police officer, who allegedly murdered both men on July 10, 2013, was being cross-examined by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Lau Wing Yum on his second day on the stand yesterday.
He repeatedly refuted DPP Lau's suggestions that he had planned an elaborate robbery with the aim of not leaving any witnesses who could identify him.
DPP Lau said that had the robbery been successful, Mr Tan would have called the police and Iskandar would have been quickly identified.
While Mr Tan might not have been able to accurately describe Iskandar, he would have been able to identify him in a police line-up, he said.
"I put it to you that as an experienced investigator, you must have known that investigations will lead to your identification if you just robbed Mr Tan Boon Sin," said DPP Lau.
Iskandar disagreed.
For the first time during the trial, the court was also shown closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the older Mr Tan retrieving valuables from his Certis Cisco safe deposit box before putting in a dummy camera that Iskandar, who had posed as an officer named Rahman from the Police Intelligence Division, gave him.
The video showed Mr Tan limping badly because of his knee problem.
RUSE
The dummy camera was produced in court and had neither a battery cover nor batteries.
The prosecution suggested Mr Tan had noticed this while trying to put it in his deposit box.
It was meant to catch the culprit behind the theft of the box's contents, a ruse by Iskandar to trick Mr Tan into taking home about $200,000 in cash and valuables from the box.
The prosecution maintained that it was part of Iskandar's elaborate plan to rob and kill Mr Tan.
At the time, the then senior staff sergeant was nearly $60,000 in debt and facing police disciplinary action.
In his defence, Iskandar maintained that he never intended to murder Mr Tan as his plan was to grab the bag containing the valuables and flee.
He said he was unarmed as he was trying to trick Mr Tan into handing over his valuables and he stabbed and slashed both men only when they tried to prevent him from escaping.
The cross-examination of Iskandar will continue tomorrow.
ABOUT THE CASE
On July 10, 2013, the body of Mr Tan Chee Heong, 42, was found with stab wounds at a taxi stand outside Kovan MRT Station, where it had been dislodged after being dragged nearly 1km by his father's car.
The car was driven by Iskandar Rahmat, 36, who is on trial for the double murders of Mr Tan and his father Tan Boon Sin, 67.
The father's body was found with multiple stab wounds in his home at 14J, Hillside Drive.
Iskandar fled to Malaysia that night but was arrested in a Johor Baru eatery two days later.
Then a police officer with the Bedok Police Division, he was facing disciplinary proceedings because of a $50,000 debt to OCBC Bank.
The prosecution maintains that Iskandar had hatched an elaborate plan to rob and kill the older man to ease his money problems.
His defence says the incident was a theft gone wrong with tragic consequences.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
